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If ever there was a feared theme on American Idol, it was country music night. But this year, under the guidance of country superstar Shania Twain as guest mentor, the theme brought out the best in the contestants.

Well, most of them. The six remaining singers chose songs from Shania’s catalog that includes country hits and crossover gems, each trying their best to make them their own.

Michael Lynche stayed true to his soulful stylings and was loved for it, while Crystal Bowersox stayed true to the genre and was slammed for it. Siobhan Magnus, on the other hand, found herself finally getting back in the good graces of the judges with her sassy punk-meets-country rendition of “Any Man of Mine.”

Here’s a rundown of how the top 6 did:

Lee DeWyze – Still The One: Country music? Not really Lee’s things. He’s proven himself to be more of a rocker with a hint of soul. The good news is Lee chose possibly the best Shania Twain song to sing. The other contestants had to be a little jealous. The bad news? Lee started the ballad off pretty rough. It took him awhile to get his footing. But after a few off-key notes, Lee kinda worked it out — or at least enough for the judges to become confused enough to swoon all over him. “Every song you take, you make it your own,” Ellen told him. “That was absolutely the perfect song out of Shania’s catalog to choose,” Simon said.

Michael Lynche – It Only Hurts When I’m Breathing: Connection. Connection. Connection. That was the task Shania put in front of Big Mike to tackle. And judging by the swaying audience (and Shania’s sways) Mike accomplished it. Mike turned the country song into a soaring R&B ballad, one that he could probably put on his very own album. “You are really in the zone of who you are,” Randy told Mike. Ellen topped things off by paying Mike the biggest compliment you could give a budding male soul crooner: “It felt like Luther Vandross was singing that song.”

Casey James – Don’t: Casey really needed to come back from the — gasp! — bad feedback he received last week. His goal this week was to give the judges and audience something different and something new from what he’s already delivered week after week. And it was different. Casey is normally the bluesy rocker showing off on his guitar and letting his voice take a backseat. This week, he was a tender crooner who let his vocals shine and used his guitar to compliment it. The judges picked up on the much needed change and showered him in praise for it. Randy and Simon both said it might have been his best performance on the show yet.

Crystal Bowersox – No One Needs To Know: Crystal was the first up to this point to actually embrace the country music theme with a true-to-the-genre rendition of her Shania Twain pick. The problem with that is Crystal is not a country singer. It was fun to watch in the moment, but it’s wasn’t one of her more memorable performances. The judges squirmed their way out of actually judging the performance by saying they like her, but it wasn’t their favorite. Well, everyone but Simon. He laid it out, saying “I thought it was limp,” before comparing it to a unwanted coffee house performance.

Aaron Kelly – You’ve Got A Way: Aaron is season 9’s resident country kid, so the theme should be no problemo for him to tackle. And it wasn’t. His performance was nowhere near perfect — it had more than a few pitch problems — but for once Aaron looked comfortable-ish on stage and with what he was singing. We later learned the connection with the song came from it being a dedication to his mom. All together now: aaaaaawwww!!! The judges were all impressed with his performance. Simon noted Aaron’s struggles over the last couple week and said with this performance he was “like a different artist.” “This is the kind of record that, if you’re going to make records, is the kind you should make.”

Siobhan Magnus – Any Man of Mine: It’s been a rough few weeks for Siobhan and it didn’t get better this week. From the very start, Siobhan was pitchy. When she wasn’t pitchy, she was off key. The saving grace (???) was her signature high note/scream, but even that was flawed. Perhaps afraid if they continued to be brutally honest their only interesting contestant would get the boot, the judges totally went easy on Siobhan. “I loved it,” Randy said. “Guess who’s back…Siobhan!” Kara added. Simon praised her song choice, but said the scream almost sounded like she was giving birth.

Predictions: Tough! Bottom three will probably be Aaron, Mike, and Casey. Aaron will probably go home.

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Comments

Wow, lots of negative opinions you have on Siobhan! You are obviously just a hater of hers. I wasn’t listening to the same show as you were. And did you watch the performances??? She was the only one that even look comfortable on a stage and actually perform a song.

Oh well, the thing with Siobhan is that people either LOVE her or HATE her – just like Simon said in her Paint It Black performance.

Well, I’m a fan. A big fan actually.

The only thing I can say is that Siobhan fans are really passionate I guess, and no matter what the judges say, we still vote for her (well I can’t since I’m from Australia but I know people from the US) because of personal preferences… :)

Personally, I’d like to see Casey James or Michael Lynch go home.
But I know that’s probably not going to happen.
I think Michael Lynch is VERY typical, and it’s high time Idol looks for something DIFFERENT. Adam Lambert set a whole new scene for the show last year, and I think that Idol should do away with TYPICAL.
So, my point is, Casey and Michael are just not very memorable to me. Oh, and to all you crazy women out there who think Casey James is cute, HE’S NOT.
WOO! SIOBHAN AND/OR LEE FOR THE WIN!

Well, I didn’t watch the AI 9. So, I don’t know what you all were talking about. I only watched it when David A. performed on the result, one Wednesday night. many of my friends told me that they lost their interests in watching AI. I myself don’t like the idea to have 4 judges, 4 is a crowd especially when one of them is talking too much and the other one is a comedian.

Siobhan’s singing and performance was the highlight of the night …liftingthe audience, the judges, the entertainment experts and most importantly, those at home that watch and vote. In a night were most singers stayed in a limited range of BOTH voice AND movement and took no chances, Siobhan’s performance carried through the octave scale…exhibiting control, bravado, tonal quality and pitch. And she carried the song and stage with confidence.

I’ve been teaching and working with singers for 20 years, both in the university level and with two major label and production companies…Siobhan’s consistency through different musical genre’s is fascinating.

Siobhan’s epic “Any man of mine” performance, coupled with the range and different song styles of “Suspicious Minds”, “Across the Universe” , “Think” and “House of the Rising Sun” puts her as one of the best vocalists AND entertainers idol has seen.

So you are saying if a woman does not like her its because they are jealous? Jealous of what? Using that reasoning then if a male does not like one of the male singers its because he is jealous. What planet are you on. I’m a woman and just don’t care for Siobhan’s voice and her attitude. I’m certainly not jealous because she can sing better than me or dresses more funky than I do. It’s what I hear that leads me to not care for her singing.

Whaaaaat? Well there you have it, feedback from a REAL EXPERT teaching at the university level. Give me a break. Weekly she sang pitchy and as was often pointed out selected the wrong song. Simply put she was not the best contestant at this point in the competition. It is safe to say that based on the lack of boos coming from the audience there are many other people who disagree with you. I suggest you sign this woman and make her a superstar.

I don’t really think this “TJ” guy knows what he’s talking about… I actually liked Crystal’s performance for once, but she did certainly sound awful in her switches to her higher notes/falsetto, and she’s constantly sounding like she’s singing the exact same songs every week. I understand the whole “that’s the kind of artist she wants to be”, but I wouldn’t want to waste my money on an album with the same song and just different words 13 times. Some reason the judges favor her, but they give Siobhan crud for using her ability to scream every couple performances? The first time she used her scream was in “Think”, but she didn’t use it the following week despite getting such a positive reaction from it the first time. It’s something that not many people can do, and she used it in a VERY tasteful manner. I feel like you bash her way to much here and play favorites like the judges on American Idol are doing… Some people aren’t meant to be judges, simply because they are biased, so we don’t need more of them on the internet now when we have enough on the actual show.

You’re certainly entitled to your opinion, but playing favorites? Uh, yeah. I think that’s what we all do when we watch the show as fans or as bloggers covering it. You’re playing favorites by preferring Siobhan over Crystal. And there’s nothing wrong with that. :)

As illustrated in some of my past recaps, I’m a fan of Siobhan’s. I just didn’t particularly enjoy Tuesday’s performance.

Regardless of the moronic comments about your take on Siobhan you called it like a lot of people heard it. She deserved to go home. I never felt she had the overall voice to win. Her attitude consistently sucked and her belief that instead of finding a niche/genre she was going to be a buffet-like singer that would change genre depending on her mood when she got out of bed the handwriting was on the wall that she would be gone soon.

I hate country week, and i hate country, and this week is always the reason a good contestant goes home unfairly each season. Now it was unfortunately Siobhan, meanwhile lame singers like Aaron who should have gone weeks ago get to stay because, well, its “country” week and he cant really fail there being country and all! so lame. now the show has become so boring. The only decent contestant left is Lee, the rest are not worth watching.

I am glad to this poser is gone. She attempted to hide behind her counter-fashion looks and hitting occasional high notes. But if one is honest and really listens to her sing instead of focusing on her funky look she is not great. I tired week-after-week of seeing her bony legs and short skirts. Other than hitting a few good high notes she consistently sang pitchy and off key, made really bad choices in song selection, was terrible on the low end, and had a real aloof and arrogant attitude.

The calls for elimination are getting easier. Next up will be Aaron or Michael, possibly followed by Casey. Final two Lee and Crystal. While Michael is a decent to good singer he sounds the same week-after-week, a bit monotone. I don’t see another Rubin Studdard-esque/Luther Vandross singer winning this.

[…] singers chose songs from Shania’s catalog that includes country hits and […] Read more on Neon Limelight Shania Twain “It Only Hurts When I’m Breathing” On Tuesday Top 6 contestants of American Idol […]

[…] American Idol Recap: Shania Twain Helps Siobhan Magnus Come Back, Crystal Bowersox Fall Back If ever there was a feared theme on American Idol, it was country music night. But this year, under the guidance of country superstar Shania Twain as guest mentor, the theme brought out the best in the contestants. Well, most of them. The six remaining singers chose songs from Shania’s catalog that includes country hits and […] Read more on Neon Limelight […]

[…] American Idol Recap: Shania Twain Helps Siobhan Magnus Come Back, Crystal Bowersox Fall Back If ever there was a feared theme on American Idol, it was country music night. But this year, under the guidance of country superstar Shania Twain as guest mentor, the theme brought out the best in the contestants. Well, most of them. The six remaining singers chose songs from Shania’s catalog that includes country hits and […] Read more on Neon Limelight […]